Bali Major group A favorites

The last Dota Pro Circuit Major of 2023 is about to begin. As usual, it will have 18 participants that will get divided into two groups of nine.

In each group, six teams will advance to the playoffs. Four of those teams will start the second stage of the Bali Major in the upper bracket, which basically means that they will have two tournament lives. So the battle in the group stage is not only for survival but also for those privileged spots.

Arguably, group A is much easier to survive than group B. Most of the world’s best teams have somehow ended up being placed in the same group, which should give Team Liquid, Tundra Esports, Shopify Rebellion, and Team Spirit an easy group stage.

The Sea Calls. 🌊🌊@IoEsportsGG 🤝 @EPULZEGaming

Bringing you Indonesia’s FIRST EVER Dota 2 Major.

📅 June 29 – July 9
🎮 18 teams
💰 $500.000

We’ll see you there 😉

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— IO Esports @ Bali Major (@ioesportsgg) April 25, 2023

Group A competitors

Group A of the Bali Major features these nine teams:

• Beastcoast
• Blacklist International
• Execration
• Invictus Gaming
• Shopify Rebellion
• Team Aster
• Team Liquid
• Team Spirit
• Tundra Esports

This list is full of outsiders that have almost no chance of qualifying for the playoffs. For example, Blacklist International, Execration, and Invictus Gaming are barely starting to make a name for themselves at the international level, at least in 2023. Sure, two of them are known by the public, but what were their results this season?

At the Lima Major and the Berlin Major, Execration finished 15^th-16^th, which is almost as bad as it gets. Regionally they did well, but whenever they are faced with tough international opposition, they lose.

For Blacklist International, this will be their first Dota 2 Major. The roster does have plenty of experience, but not nearly as much as the strongest teams in this group.

Invictus Gaming finished Tour 1 in 6^th place, Tour 2 in 3^rd place, and Tour 3 in 2^nd place. At the Berlin Major, they finished 17^th-18^th. No amount of training can take a team from finishing last at a Major to getting a good result just two months later.

One other team that looks vulnerable in this group is beastcoast. The South American squad tends to get good results regionally, but not internationally. At the previous Major, beastcoast finished 13^th-14^th. At DreamLeague S20, they finished 9^th-10^th.

The biggest favorites in group A of the Bali Major are Tundra Esports, Team Liquid, Shopify Rebellion, and Team Spirit. Team Aster could also finish among the top four because Sumail “Sumail” Hassan is a very experienced LAN player.

Header: IO Esports, Epulze